Top US Commander Says Russia Flights Around Alaska Are Straining Our Units
By Donald Standeford, Correspondent - Follow -
Date Published: 2021-04-29 11:40PM UTC
Last Modified: 2021-05-03 11:22PM PST
ALASKA - Numerous U.S. officials have stated that Russian activity around Alaska have increased significantly as of late, and the head of Alaskan Command has just put out a statement saying that the recent increase has put a strain on U.S. assets, but that they are handling the strain well.
Air Force Lieutenant General David Krumm said, "As a matter of fact, the highest activity we've had since the fall of the Soviet Union occurred last year. So we've intercepted more airplanes in and around the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone than in a really, really long time".
Each time Russian planes enter the Alaskan ADIZ (Air Defense Identification Zone) the United States has to send out military jets to intercept the aircraft.
Krumm stated, "We intercepted over 60 aircraft last year in and around the Alaska ADIZ. We monitor more than that." Krumm went on to comment about how the U.S. forces are handling the increase, saying "While there is a strain on our units, I will tell you that they're managing it very, very effectively. The F-22 is the best air-dominance machine that we've got ... and it is employed masterfully by our airmen".
Intercepting the Russian aircraft takes a toll on the U.S. forces readiness however, which is the suspected reason China keeps sending military aircraft into Taiwan's Air Defense Identification Zone, to lower Taiwan's response time and get its forces used to intrusions so that when a real attack happens, they won't be as prepared for it as they would have been had there been no constant intrusions into their airspace.
Krumm's last statement about the Alaskan intrusions was both upbeat and positive, saying, "quite frankly, it's a good exercise for us as well, to be able to go across vast distances, to be able to execute intercepts in a timely, professional manner, and they do it with style".
